Magistrates' court procedure

CRP.05 — Magistrates' Court Procedure

The magistrates' court handles every criminal case at first instance. The overriding objective (CrimPR Part 1) — dealing with cases justly — frames everything.

Classification of offences

• Summary only (e.g. common assault, most driving offences) — tried only in the magistrates' court.
• Either-way (e.g. theft, ABH, fraud) — may be tried in either court; allocation procedure decides.
• Indictable only (e.g. murder, robbery, s.18 GBH) — sent straight to the Crown Court under s.51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at the first hearing.

Allocation (either-way) — MCA 1980 ss.17A–20

1. Plea before venue (s.17A): defendant indicates plea.
2. Guilty indication → treated as summary trial conviction; magistrates may sentence or commit for sentence (s.14/s.15 Sentencing Act 2020) if powers inadequate.
3. Not guilty / no indication → allocation hearing. Magistrates decide whether their sentencing powers are adequate, applying the Allocation Guideline (presumption of summary trial unless powers likely inadequate).
4. If magistrates accept jurisdiction, the defendant has an unfettered right to elect Crown Court trial. The magistrates have no such election — only the defendant does.
5. Defendant may request an indication of sentence (custodial or non-custodial) before deciding; if given and a guilty plea follows, magistrates cannot exceed it.

Sentencing powers

• Maximum 12 months' custody for a single either-way offence. The s.224 Sentencing Act 2020 increase from 6 to 12 months is in force (raised 2 May 2022, briefly reverted to 6 months 30 March 2023, then re-increased to 12 months from 18 November 2023 — and remains in force in 2026). Up to 12 months aggregate for two or more either-way offences sentenced consecutively. Summary-only offences remain capped at 6 months. Unlimited fines.
• Committal for sentence to the Crown Court if powers are inadequate.

Bail and case management

• Bail Act 1976: presumption of bail (s.4); refused only on made-out grounds (e.g. substantial grounds to believe the defendant would fail to surrender, commit offences, or interfere with witnesses), assessed against the offence's nature/seriousness, character, record and community ties.
• First hearing: case management directions, plea, allocation/sending.

Common traps

• Only the defendant elects Crown Court trial — magistrates never force it once they accept jurisdiction.
• Indictable-only offences are sent (s.51 CDA 1998), not allocated — no plea is taken in the magistrates' court.
• A guilty plea at plea-before-venue can still lead to committal for sentence — accepting jurisdiction at allocation does not cap the eventual Crown Court sentence.
• The single either-way maximum is now 12 months, not 6 — the increase is in force. Note that summary-only offences are still capped at 6 months; don't confuse the two.